Yesterday, reporter Ken Goe published an account detailing the reaction to Andersen’s departure from within the program, completed mainly with the help of several connected anonymous sources. As was the case with Danny Moran’s followup that was published Tuesday morning, not one person thought Andersen would call it quits; even former Utah coach Ron McBride, who speaks with Andersen regularly as his mentor and friend, was surprised by the resignation, saying he wished that the former Beavers coach had talked it through with him first.

That information, while interesting, was largely to be expected—nobody expects a Power Five coach to drop in the middle of the season, let alone do it and leave $12.6 million on the table. But while everyone from players to fellow Pac-12 coaches admitted that the Week 6 resignation was a shock, the sources in Goe’s piece all pointed to one common factor that led to Andersen hanging up the headset: issues with his coaching staff.

Andersen clearly did not think highly of his assistants (which could explain why neither the OC, DC nor another assistant with former HC experience is the interim head coach). Still, it's one thing to say these things privately, but to publish these exchanges in public is most irregular. Did Andersen really not know these would be published? Or, with whom he ever shared this exchange with, get permission to forward it to a newspaper?

In either case, over $12 million in suddenly free cash should get a decent new staff in place for the offseason. Wonder if they call Mark Helfrich.